I don't know if it's premature or tardy to say we've reached the end of Year 1...  it's not REALLY the end of the calendar year, yet...  but we're also a month past the point where we'd planned on being done.  Yesterday was our last "regular season" market, though--a fantastic turnout from our great customers in Glens Falls--and we're still alive, so we're declaring victory!

Even though it wasn't part of the plan, we're also going to be attending winter markets in Ballston Spa (first Saturdays in the CCE building on High St) and Glens Falls (every Saturday from 9-12 at Christ United Church on Bay St).  We don't have the fancy infrastructure some other growers have (yet!) but we're fighting the good fight against Old Man Winter as best we can, with multiple layers of remay on low tunnels, and of course we have delicious sweet potatoes, winter squash, beets, onions, leeks, etc.  We ended up losing an awful lot of our carrots to the funk after the rains in September, which is too bad, as they're super sweet and have proven quite popular.  A lot of other stuff just never recovered from the shock of all that rain and never really matured...  Nonetheless, we're looking forward to the opportunity to continue to be a part of those markets through the winter.

Also--and this is big news--we're excited to be organizing a CSA in Ballston Spa for 2012!  The details ought to be worked out any day now, but shoot us an email if you want to be kept in the loop.

Despite some really close calls, we ended up missing frosts here on the farm until the Snowpocalypse came in late October.  Actually, it was just a few inches of really wet snow, but it made a mess of things as it built up on the trees and wires.  Prior to that, we were still harvesting delicious eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers right up to Halowe'en.  After the frost, we were blessed with a pretty serious Indian Summer in early November, letting a beautiful crop of fall broccoli size up under row cover.  We're still harvesting spinach, swiss chard, radishes and broccoli...  So we're lucky, and grateful.

Theoretically things should have slowed down for Cara and me by now, but somehow they haven't.  Whatever slack the waning growing season offered has been snapped up by the pressure to milk the off-farm income streams for whatever they're worth.  We'd love to squirrel away enough money over the winter to allow one of us to not work off the farm next year.  It gets kind of taxing to be doing a 3 1/2 hour drive down to NYC to earn that cash, though.  Our fantastic friends in the city have been offering me a place to sleep when I'm down for multiple days, which has made it possible for me to work 3 or 4 days a week down there...  which is great...  but tears me away from the life (and the wife, dog, and home) that this is all about.  As fall slips into winter and I feel so little relief from the insanity that was this season, I'm sometimes afraid that I won't find time to recharge before next season hits...  but I'm sure it will happen.  When we planned this endeavor we knew it was going to tax us for all we were worth to make it through these first few seasons...  and Mother Nature didn't make it easy on us (or anyone else!) this season.  Having said all that, despite the inherent challenges of Year 1 and the unique ones of 2011, we not just met our financial goals, we exceeded them.  Yes, it's more a credit to our incredible conservatism (pessimism?) writing the business plan than a reflection of our prowess as farmer businessmen, but it's not too shabby for a start-up business.  And it gives on hope about the feasibility of the rest of the plan.

Even though this year's not done and we haven't even begun to do all of our winter maintenance, next year is already here: we're crunching numbers and searching for the things that will improve the weak links here at Quincy Farm.  We have lots of ideas of how to improve our efficiency, from little inventions to expensive implements.  We also need to update our irrigation scheme and figure out what we need and what we can afford if we're going to expand our acreage next season.  And, of course, we need to make a crop plan, figure out how much seed we need and when and where, and make that happen...  and figure out what additional inputs we need, and from where...  and maybe expand the greenhouse...  and get proper running water to the hydrant in the barn...  and about a zillion other little infrastructure crises...  and Cara said something about unpacking?

Looking back on Year 1, I really don't know how we pulled it off...  and I honestly don't think I have the fortitude to push myself *quite* that hard even one more season...  but there are fleeting moments, here and there, when we pause and take notice of each other and our life, and it seems like maybe, just maybe, this was a good idea.  Maybe.

A few weeks ago, the National Young Farmer Coalition asked if we would be interested in flying to Washington DC to lobby for a Regional and Local Food Act.  We were elbow deep in our Friday harvest and washing and without giving it much thought, I answered, “Well, why not?”  In the days that followed, I came to understand that this was a fly-in with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (Lindsey had mentioned this on the phone, but I don’t always absorb things well when I’m multi-tasking), I had lots of answers to why not as started to doubt whether I should try to represent sustainable agriculture or farmers from my region.  Like many beginning farmers, we are very small this year and our household income is generated off the farm while we try to use our farm income to capitalize.  Farms in my county are large, mostly dairy and run by farmers from farming backgrounds.  However, as I started to research my representatives’ districts, I became a bit more comfortable with my understanding of how the Local Food, Farms and Jobs Act would benefit all kinds of farms.

The Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act was introduced by Representative Chellie Pingree and Senator Sherrod Brown this month.  This act is suggestions for legislation that would tweak parts of the Farm Bill to address the needs of those of us who market our farm products within 250 miles of our farms. 

On November 3rd, I rode Amtrak to DC and met the staff from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.  NSAC had gathered an impressive group of farmers and advocates from around the country to speak to their representatives.  With Steve Etka from the National Organic Coalition, Aisha Amuda and Kathy Mulvey from the Community Food Security Coalition, Daniel Bowman Simon from SNAP Gardens and Josephine Chu Master of Arts Candidate in Global Environmental Policy at American University, I met with two New York State Congressmen. 

Chris Gibson is the Congressman from my district; in fact, he’s from Kinderhook where we lived for two years.  He is also a new member of the Agriculture Committee, which meant that he was a high priority for this fly-in.  He was quite receptive, chatting with us about his support for farms in his district, his concerns about GMOs and his focus on solar power.  Rep. Gibson is politically conservative, but he listened to our concerns and seemed interested how the Local Farms, Food and Jobs Act could benefit his constituents.  This was a surprising moment for me—it felt as if by making our voices hear we actually might be able to change the direction of government. 

Our second meeting was with Rep. Bill Owens who is on the Agriculture Committee as well.  None of us were from Owen’s district, which includes lots of the Adirondacks and northern New York.  I’d say that the meeting felt a bit chilly, but I would add that I was impressed that both of these Congressmen met with us themselves.  Yes, staffers were present, too, but they both took time out of their days to meet with us face-to-face.  Owens signed onto the bill in the days following this meeting.  Perhaps he was expecting to co-sponsor prior to our meeting or maybe we had an impact!

I took the train back to Albany that day and was back at my house just 34 hours after leaving.  We’re pretty busy around here and I don’t spend much time thinking or reading about the Farm Bill.  I have always found the minutiae of the Farm Bill’s 1500 or so pages overwhelming.  However, in learning a bit about this act, I felt that almost all of the changes mentioned addressed parts of the Farm Bill that apply directly to our farm or farmers we know.  I was happy to have overcome my doubts about speaking to the politicians who represent me and I  hope to see more support for this Act in the following weeks, especially as the Farm Bill process is more confusing than ever with this year’s Super Committee process.